The will of Austin's health-conscious overcame the business interests of local bar owners Saturday with the passing of a city-wide smoking ban.
With all polls reporting, the ban passed 52 percent to 48 percent.
Effective September 1, the ban will force patrons of the 217 Austin bars and clubs that still allow smoking indoors to smoke at least 15 feet away from the establishment. Nursing homes and bingo parlors are exempt from the ban.
In February, Onward Austin - the American Cancer Society-backed group in pursuing the ban - submitted 41,449 signatures on a petition to have the smoking referendum added to the ballot. Of those, 37,970 signatures were verified.
"I think [the smoking ban] will enhance the number of people who turn out to live clubs," said Onward Austin spokesman David Butts. "Change seems to be a very fortuitous event, but it'll be in their benefit in the long run."
Place 4 candidate and Elysium bar owner John Wickham offered Elysium as the headquarters Saturday night for Keep Austin Free - a group opposing the ban.
Wickham increased the proposed smoking ban's visibility by running against Place 4 incumbent Dunkerley, who was reelected Saturday. Wickham came in last place with 6 percent. Owners of at least six Austin bars and clubs, including the Horseshoe Lounge and the Yellow Rose, watched results huddled at the corner of the bar.
Wickham, a UT alumni, said the results were saddening.
"I think it's a very sad thing that here in Austin, Texas, the live music capital of the world, so many people have shown such disregard for the businesses, the locally owned small businesses that do so much to create and support the live music and cultural vitality," Wickham said. "This is the Californication and the Disneyfication of Texas and of Austin.
Paul Silver, owner of the bar 219 West, said the community of bar owners may take legal action but that their financial futures are in jeopardy.
"We already have the brief written," Silver said. "It's just a matter of us getting together as a group and deciding how we're going to raise the money to take it to the next step. But there's so many people who are at risk right now of failure that time is probably of the essence."
Also passed Saturday was a referendum to include 15 percent of the city to allocate a portion of their taxes toward Austin Community College.
Effective immediately, students living in those areas will be able to enroll at ACC under a lower tuition rate, said John Hernandez, vice chair of ACC's board of trustees. Taxes funded toward ACC will not go into effect for another year.
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